Improved fishing gear is the quest of most fishermen and is the subject of many patents. There are two basic components to fishing. The first element is to entice a fish to strike at a bait and be hooked. The second element is to be able to control that fish until he is ready for capture or release.
Many fishermen have learned, the hard way, that the portion of the line nearest the hook is subject to extra abrasion and wear and tear that occurs during the contest. Thus fishermen have added a short portion of strengthened material between the hook and the fishing line called a leader. Leaders are made from a material sufficiently robust to withstand the cutting or breaking by the jaws, teeth, or bill of the fish. In some cases the leader is made from a strengthened line such as monofilament and in other cases the leader is made from a wire product.
Wire products are more visible. Certain fish see this wire and avoid striking hooks attached to wire leaders. These fish are leader sensitive. For example tuna fish are highly suspicious of wire leaders and experience teaches that tuna fish avoid striking wire leaders altogether. For tuna fishermen the leader of choice will be made of a strengthened monofilament line. Even with the additional strength leaders the tuna fish's jaw can break or cut the monofilament leaders.
There are other fish such as king fish and sharks who's earned reputation is that their teeth can cut even the strongest lines. To catch these toothy fish a wire leader must be used. Thus the fisherman must make a decision between hooking more fish with an "invisible" monofilament leader and losing most, if not all, the toothy fish or hooking less fish with the more visible wire leaders.
The problem is that both the tuna and toothy fish may be in the same area, at the same time and each may strike the same bait. To "play-the-odds" the fisherman solves this problem by using monofilament leaders on a portion of their equipment and wire leaders on the balance of the gear. These fisherman hope that the right fish strikes the right leader.
Despite the longstanding problems encountered by using leaders, this operation is still carried out substantially in the same manner as was employed decades ago. The present invention solves a long-felt but unsolved need providing a simple but effective system for using a strengthened leader without the problems of the prior art.
Nothing in the prior art has disclosed a device to conceal or disguise a leader within a bait or lure. Moreover, nothing in the prior art has suggested an integrated system utilizing a mechanism for storage and concealment of fishing leaders within the bait or lure.